Needing a Knife
by Elanor Joy
Summary: Eustace has decided he needs a knife and Jill unwillingly comes along to help him purchase one. Set pre-Last Battle.


**Author's Note: This one isn't nearly as fluffy as my last Jill/Eustace fic, but I'm still plagued by the two, so I had to write. It is set just before The Last Battle and I'm aging Jill and Eustace at about sixteen. Enjoy!**

_Needing a Knife_

"Pole! Are you ready yet? It's after nine! Pole!" Eustace emphasized her name with a solid bang on the door, and then grimaced, hoping he hadn't alerted the entire floor. A moment later his agitation was rewarded with the door opening.

Pole's roommate, a girl Eustace himself had always rather disliked and had never bothered to find out the name of, poked her head out of the door and rolled her eyes when she saw him. "She says you said nine-thirty."

"I said around nine-thirty."

The girl pulled her head back into the room and he heard faint mumblings and an irritated cry, followed by more mumblings. The girl stuck her head back out. "She says it's only nine-fifteen."

"Well, that's halfway to nine-thirty, therefore it's around nine-thirty. Is she ready yet?"

"No."

"And you know this from your own keen observation, eh?"

The girl didn't even flinch at his sarcasm. "Yes."

Eustace closed his eyes and mustered up every last bit of charm he had in him and when he opened his eyes, spoke in the most honeyed of tones. "Please, as a lady who has obviously become privy to Jill's utmost confidence, would you be so very kind as to retrieve her and allow me a word with said damsel?"

The girl rolled her eyes again, but before she could say word, the door was pulled all the way open and Jill walked out, a coat over her arm and a hat covering her curls. "That's quite enough, Scrubb. Thanks Miriam." The girl didn't say anything, but turned around and shut the door in a huff.

"Now, what exactly is the fuss about?" Jill asked as he took off down the hall.

"We're going to town."

"I'd gathered that." She was walking at a normal pace, forcing him to slow down and wait until she'd caught up a bit. "Why are we going to town?"

"I'll tell you later."

"You are one of the most insufferable people . . ." He clamped a hand over her mouth before she could raise her voice any further.

"I can't talk about it here. Would you please hurry up?" He released her and hurried on down the hall.

She stood there for a moment. "Fine!" she cried before she stomped her foot and hurried after him. She didn't say another word as they rushed down the hall, and Eustace felt it would be best if he didn't say anything either. He helped her into her coat in silence and couldn't help but smile a little when he saw the spark of curiosity in her eyes.

He was impressed with how long she kept her curiosity at bay. They were a block and a half away from the Experiment House before she grabbed his arm and stopped. Her sudden cessation of motion didn't surprise him, he had been expecting it actually. She didn't say a word, just arched her eyebrows until they almost hid beneath the brim of her hat and waited for his explanation.

"Alright, fine. I'm going to buy a knife and I need your help."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm getting a knife and I need your help."

"A knife! And you dragged me along for fun?" She didn't let him even begin to respond. "You mean to say that you made me get up at the crack of dawn on a Saturday so you wouldn't be lonely when you bought a knife? Isn't this position better suited to one of your cousins? Honestly, Lucy would do a better job at this than I! Susan even!"

Eustace tried not to laugh at the picture of his frilliest cousin in an arms shop. She took his smirk as directed at her, but this time he spoke before she could. "First of all, my cousins are, at the nearest, seventy-five kilometers away. Second, Susan would fall over dead before she would even _look _at an arms shop. Third, I didn't bring you along for fun, I brought you along because I value your opinion." The fierce look on her face softened just a bit. "Besides," he added, "you've the best eye for weapons out of anyone I know."

She glared at him. "You're doing it again."

"What?"

"You're being matter-of-fact when I'm upset. You know it drives me mad."

"It's for your own good. Someone has to bring you back to Earth every now and again."

"Humph."

But she continued to follow him into town, so he decided she didn't really mind all that much. Eventually, she started speaking to him again and they made it to the shopping district without further incident.

"Where's the arms shop?"

"Um, I'm not exactly sure." He looked around, but as he was rather unfamiliar with anything that had to do with shopping, he hadn't the foggiest idea where the shop might be. "Stay here. I'll inquire about it and be right back."

"Why can't I go and inquire about it too?"

"Because then I'll lose you and I only got permission for an hour and a half off grounds. It would take too long to find you again. Just stay here, alright?" She huffed a sigh, which he took as her acquiescence. "Thank you," he shouted over his shoulder as he ran off.

She watched him disappear into the crowd and glared at his vansihing back. "That pigheaded little . . ." She decided it was better if she didn't finish the insult. We mustn't think that Jill was too terribly upset with him, or that she had grown to dislike Eustace since their adventure with Prince Rilian. Actually, she and Eustace had grown rather close to each other in the years since that adventure. It was just that she wasn't very much of a morning person and the fact that she had gotten up early on a day she did not have to go to school had put her all out of sorts.

She sighed again and inwardly bemoaned the fact that she could see her breath in the air before her. She loved summer and sunshine and the fact that winter was upon England in full force did little to lift her spirits.

"You look cold, why don't I buy you a cup of hot cider?" The speaker was a boy who looked to be a of couple years ahead of herself and a maniacal grinner.

"I'm fine thanks," she said with a brief smile before she turned away, dismissing him from her presence. He didn't take the hint.

"My name's Tim, and you're . . .?"

"Annoyed."

"And practically blue to boot. Why don't you come with me? You'll be warm in no time." He grabbed her arm and began to pull her with him. She was forming her hand into a fist when the connection was abruptly severed. Eustace was there, pushing her behind him and giving Tim a glare that made Jill glad he was never truly upset at her.

"Thanks for your concern. I'll take care of her from here."

"Righto, mate." The boy apparently decided there were bigger fish to fry. "I'll just be on my way then."

"Sounds like a plan, _mate_." Eustace watched the boy until he was quite sure it was safe before he turned to Jill, and with a pale face and a shaken voice asked her if she was alright.

"Quite," her voice was a little shaky too. "Thank you."

He gave her a long look to determine whether or not she was telling the truth, and deciding that she was, took her arm gently. "Come on, the shop's this way."

The arm's shop was warm and smelt of leather and they both were put at ease upon entering it. The shopkeeper was very accomodating (if not a little dim) and upon hearing what Eustace wanted, set off to fetch a collection of knives he thought were suitable for his need. While the shopkeeper was doing this, the two looked the shop over. It had a scant assortment of weapons as most had been donated to the war effort and turned into bullets.

There was a small display of antique weapons though, and both were instantly drawn to it. Eustace gasped when he found the scabbard of a broadsword and Jill felt a small thrill run down her spine at the sight of it. His face transformed as he lifted the sword, a good sturdy one that had made it through the many years of its existence without much mark, and withdrew it from its scabbard. He had to hold it with both hands, and although it was tarnished and he himself a little worse for the wear, he felt a little more like himself than he had in a couple of years. From the knowing smile on Jill's face, he could tell he looked more like himself too.

As Jill watched him, she felt her breath catch in her throat. Sunlight from a window high in the shop's wall was pouring down on him, making both the boy and the sword look different, better even. The sword looked far more natural in his hands now that he was older. His bravery earlier had not lost its effect on her and she felt now more than ever that Eustace was a true knight of Narnia.

The shopkeeper ruined the magic of it all. "Now, I've got one here that I really think you'll-what do you think you're doing?" But even the shopkeeper got a strange look on his face when he saw the boy-turning-man holding the sword properly and with a strange, faraway look in his eye. But he didn't allow the amazement to last. "Put that away."

Eustace obliged and only begrudged the man a bit for his lack of knowledge. Once assured that the sword and the two young people were safe, the shopkeeper beckoned them to the counter and spread the knives out a worn piece of velvet. It was a rather good assortment, and Eustace soon narrowed his choice down to three. The shopkeeper went to put the others away while Eustace speculated over his choices.

"What do you think, Jill?"

She examined each one carefully, picking them up and turning them over. "The balance is off on that one," she finally said.

"Do you really think so? I rather like it."

"You'll hate it later."

"You really think so?"

"I do."

"Which one's the best, in your opinion?"

"I don't like any of them."

"What?"

"You asked for my opinion!"

"Do you think any of them will do?"

"No."

He stared at her, "Is this my payback for waking you up early?"

She ducked her head to hide a smile, "No, it's not. I just don't think any of them suit you."

"Oh really?"

"Yes."

"Did you see one that you thought 'suites' me?"

"Yes."

"Which one?"

She walked back over to the antique display and picked up a small, sheathed dagger, one that fit in her hand with room to spare. "This is the one you should buy."

"That's not exactly what I was thinking of."

"I know. Just look at it, alright?"

"Fine."

She did nothing to hide her smile this time and handed him the dagger with a great deal of ceremony. He pulled it from its sheath and examined it carefully. It was elegantly made, small enough to fit in his pocket, but big enough to serve whatever purpose he needed it to. The grip fit his hand perfectly and he found himself loving it.

"May I?" Jill asked, and not waiting for a reply, took it from him with great care. She turned it over in her hand, checking the balance and the grip and so forth. Then, before he even knew what she was doing, she'd cocked her arm back and sent it flying through the air. It stuck into the wood frame of the door the shopkeeper had just emerged from.

"Dangerous, young lady, very dangerous." Was the only admonition that came from the shopkeeper's shocked lips. Jill shrugged and pulled the dagger from the doorframe, handing it back to Eustace.

"I'll take this one."

~*~

A month or so later, after an awful jerk on the train and upon spotting the same man that had appeared when the friends of Narnia had gathered, Eustace found himself cutting the ropes that bound the man (whom, they later learned, was the King of Narnia) to a tree with the very knife Jill had chosen. And he was ever so thankful he'd brought her with him on that excursion to the arm's shop.


End file.
